Las Rageous at Downtown Events Center in Las Vegas, NV

The second annual Las Rageous headlined by A Perfect Circle and Five Finger Death Punch brings a powerful lineup for two days of music.

There are many summer music festivals and for the second year, Las Vegas is seeking to stake a claim on that list as a music festival to travel to. If they keep up with lineups like this they definitely will. The second annual Las Rageous was advertised as having a bigger site with more to offer the fans including food, beverage, and merchandise. That is the case including a booth featuring Maynard James Keenan’s wines from his own winery and various different clothing and accessory vendors. From the crowd gathering at the gate, it looks like they are all looking forward to seeing what the days hold. This is the perfect time of year for a festival in Las Vegas and Las Rageouswith over eighteen bands during the two days is ready to go.

The lines are long as the gates open, but there is plenty of time for the crowd to come in take a look around before the first band Slaves hits the stage. With two stages situated closely together, the set up is ideal for the concert goer who doesn’t want to miss a single set with food, drink, and services scattered about the festival grounds. The two-day lineup consists of both newer and more established bands in hard rock in heavy metal beginning with Slaves and Vyces. From there it is time for the first of three local Las Vegas bands, Otherwise to take the stage. Seeing as this band hails from Las Vegas it is not a surprise to see the size of the crowd for them, but if you haven’t seen this hard rock band live you are missing something. They command the stage and it is easy to see why they are featured on most local festivals.

The day and the crowd just continue to grow. Pop Evil delivers an amazing set filled with all their hits on the second stage. The energy of this band is infectious and the crowd really responds to them. Next is New Years Day which delivers one of the standout sets of the day. If you haven’t seen this band live you are missing something. Each member brings their own energy to the stage with an intensity that sometimes makes you unsure where to even look. Front-woman Ashley Costello commands the stage and delivers a killer Panteracover for the second song of the set. The next two bands are Underoath and Clutch. Both deliver sets that while very different from each other please their fans and for Clutch definitely earns them some new ones.

It is now time for the headliners. Everyone piles over to the second stage to see A Day to Remember who replaced Ghost rather recently when they pulled out of the lineup. A Day to Remember just headlined Las Vegas a few weeks ago, but it is clear the crowd doesn’t mind. They deliver a set that is new and exciting. The much anticipated A Perfect Circle is next. This is also the day that their new album is released so the crowd is eager to see and hear what Maynard James Keenan has in store for them. Some aren’t sure if the new music is going to sound like Tool or A Perfect Circle. The set doesn’t disappoint mixing old and new songs including “Talk Talk” and “Counting Bodies Like Sheep.” Being a festival the stage set up is not what many people expect, but it seems like they were anticipating the extravagant Tool stage show and not the A Perfect Circle treatment. In total it is an excellent set that announces A Perfect Circle is back. With over seven hours of music in the books, it is time for the crowd to disperse and get ready for day two.

Arriving at the site for day two it is clear the crowds are even larger then they were the day before. Today’s lineup has more bands that everyone might be more familiar with. Bad Wolves are up first. They have really launched into the more mainstream awareness with their cover of The Cranberries“Zombie” They treat the crowd to this amazing cover at the end of their set and it is filled with emotion. Ded, a nu-metal band from Arizona, up next is a surprise for many. Their low key theatrics and energetic set definitely earned them some new fans. At this point, we get an amazing and unexpected set from Joyous Wolf. This band takes the stage and the frontman is shot out of a cannon almost literally. His energy is explosive with leaps, flips, splits and much more. Their retro feel and energy gets the crowd going. Unfortunately, their set is cut short after he climbs the scaffolding due to safety concerns. Next is Adelitas Way another local band that the crowd loves and supports and they deliver their very solid signature set.

At this point, we are reaching the time in the evening that most have come to see. This is an interesting lineup blending the classics with the new. Black Star Riders kick this off. You have to respect the history of this band and for those who don’t know that history they are clued in really quickly with the second song being Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak.” Rap-rock powerhouse Hollywood Undead play next and from the comments in the crowd, they delivered the set they were expecting blowing their fans away. When the members first come onto stage without instruments and their signature masks rapping, those unfamiliar with this band start to wonder what they are doing on a hard rock festival, but as the set progresses that becomes clear.

The final four bands of the weekend are next, Saxon, In This Moment, Judas Priest,and Five Finger Death Punch. This is a very diverse lineup and each band delivers an amazing set that is exactly what the crowd expects. For Saxon and Priest, they are totally what you want and expect from them including Priest clad in head-to-toe leather and bringing the stage show that is expected. In This Moment has to tone down their stage show a little for this venue, but basically, that just means fewer costume changes from Maria Brink. After each one of these bands you think the show cannot get any better but it does.

It is finally time for the last headliner, Five Finger Death Punch who are also local and they have brought out the crowd which is even bigger than last night. This band supports Las Vegas and the fans support them. It is not uncommon to see bassist Chris Kael at local shows and singer Ivan Moody sports a local sports team’s jersey like he does at all Las Vegas shows of theirs. This band delivers an amazing high energy set with each member interacting with the crowd throughout throwing pics and generally pumping up the crowd. Even after two long days, the energy of the crowd is not waning due to this high-intensity set.

The confetti cannons fire and that ends the second annual Las Rageous festival. They promised a bigger and better festival this year and they delivered. As the crowd staggers out from exhaustion with their ears ringing many are already planning for next year. This is one of the best most exciting festivals around situated in a city that doesn’t sleep, it is a perfect pairing.

About The Author

A Las Vegas based photographer, I enjoy shooting a variety of things but my primary focus is Travel, Music, Nature and Wildlife.
My goal through my projects including Music, Event and Animal photography is to capture the candid moments that tell the story. They are singular moment of time, my goal is to take the viewer back to that point and the memories. I discovered photography is my passion. This allows me to incorporate my long standing love of music and travel into this art form. For me live music and concerts are who I am, and concerts and travel often went hand in hand. Now photography has brought these all together for me in a new and exciting way.